Forecast on Russia's 2016 GDP Decline Improves From 1.7% to 0.8%

Russia's GDP will decline by 0.8 percent this year and grow by 0.8 percent in 2017, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in its biannual report published Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The OECD's outlook in June had the Russian economy shrink by 1.7 percent in 2016, then return to 0.5 percent growth next year.

"Economic growth is projected to turn positive at the end of 2016 and to slightly accelerate over the next two years as the macroeconomic environment improves further," the latest OECD forecast states.

It notes that Russia's GDP is expected to grow by 1 percent in 2018.

The Paris-based think tank’s projection is based on the assumption that oil prices would remain at mid-November levels and that anti-Russia sanctions would be renewed.